My name is Ann, and I am a single mom. I adopted two beautiful sisters in the late fall of 2011. I am hoping to journal my journey as a mom and share my ups and downs...most of all, my heart. I hope that we can encourage each other through this journey.

The Romagnolo Family

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Disney's Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend 2016 - Kids Races

When I signed up for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend back in March, I also decided to sign my girls up for the kids races. I signed Lyla up for the 1 mile run and Mia for the 400 meter dash. My best friend signed her 8 year old son up for both of those races as well. Lyla started "training" by running her first mile race in May. In September they both ran a 1K, and then in October Lyla ran another 1 mile race. In addition to this, they've done a few 1K races with our local running club and we hit the track the last few weeks before we left. They were ready and super excited.

The kids races are on Friday and Saturday. I chose Friday for this weekend so that I would have enough time to get through my 5K, go back to the resort to get ready and then meet them at ESPN Worldwide Sports Complex. The Meter Dashes began at 11:am. Mia's was the last one (it's a good thing because we were running a little late). I'm not sure what the crowds were like for Saturday, but it wasn't very crowded for us. I am so glad that I had my best friend, Debbie and her husband, Mike with us. Mia wanted me to run this race with her. Mike and Lyla went to stand at one of the corners so that he could get video of us running by. Debbie went to wait at the end so that she could get us crossing the finish line. I thought Mia would mostly walk this race. She isn't all that into running. Well, I guess all of that training helped. That girl took off and never stopped until the finish!

I was so proud of my sweet girl! She didn't even stop to high five Chip & Dale (mommy did though!)! Once Mia & Zachary got their medals, we went to get their pictures taken before heading over to the starting line for the 1 mile race.

It was a little bit of a hike to where the 1 mile race started. Since Mike was running this one with Lyla and Zachary, Debbie, Mia and I walked all the way back to the finish line. We had plenty of time though. Mia and I even got to make cheering posters for them. Apparently Lyla took off and didn't hold back. Zachary had tried to catch up to her at one point but she stopped for about 2 seconds and then kept going. I found that as the first set of kids were coming around the corner towards the finish line, I started to get emotional. I definitely had tears in my eyes as Lyla was coming around the corner. She started to slow down until she heard Debbie and I cheering for her. She looked over at us, smiled, waved and took off to cross the finish! After her race, we took more pictures and then headed on over to Epcot for the afternoon.

We wouldn't have been able to do the kids races had it not been for Debbie and Mike. If they hadn't been there, Mia would have had to do her race without me. She would have done it, but I bet that she would've walked most of it. I also wouldn't have been able to get footage during and at the end of their races. Oh and if you are wondering about getting your child after their race, don't worry...Disney has that covered. If your child runs without a parent, there is a tag on their bib that you detach and show a cast member before they will allow your child to leave the race area.

We had a blast at the runDisney Kids Races! We can't wait to do it again in February at the Princess Half. I think that it's safe to say that if mommy will be running a runDisney race, then so will Mia & Lyla. Has your child done a runDisney Kids Race? What did you think of it? Be sure to check out my YouTube page for video recaps of the races. If you'd like to read more about the runDisney Races, check out my friends at Joyful Miles and their YouTube page.